Rice in New Persian Kitchen

Has anyone tried substituting brown basmati for white basmati in any of the rice recipes in The New Persian cooking? It is mentioned as a good option in the intro, but I'm guessing the cookies times and fluids should be increased a little. I can't wait to cook from this book!

1 Comment

I haven't had any experience with that particular cook-book, but as someone who consumes -quite literally- one to two pounds of rice a week, I can tell you that you can get around the extra cooking time and liquid which may throw your recipe off. There is, of course, a significant textural difference between white and brown rice which may affect your dish, or turn your fellow diners off.
There's an easy fix for this, though, all it requires is some advance planning. Very thoroughly wash and soak your rice overnight in acidulated water.
I gently swirl the rice around in a large glass bowl, situated in the sink with a slight trickle of water running into it for thirty minutes or more (it's meditative for me) until I'm satisfied that the water -which will never actually run clear- is as clear as it is going to get. I rinse and drain it well, pour a tablespoon or two of raw organic apple cider vinegar over it, cover it with water, then seal the container and place it on top of my refrigerator to keep warm for sixteen to twenty hours. This seems like a lot, and you can probably skip the extensive washing, but it does need to soak for a minimum of four hours. Rinse and drain it thoroughly before cooking to lose the flavor of whatever acid you used.
You'll find that not only does this make brown rice cook faster, but it bears much more similarity in texture to white rice. Soaking helps to reduce phytic acid. This makes it easier to digest and allows your body to absorb a great deal more nutrients, usually blocked by phytic acid.
You can use raw apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, whey, any kind of acid really, just make sure that it's raw or fresh.
Google "soaking rice" for more info, and don't pay any attention to those people who say "there's no need to soak" or, "soaking kick-starts fermentation which leads to bacteria." They're wrong, and I have years of eating rice prepared just this way behind me to prove it.